The Christmas Star
by ErinNovelist
Summary: It is the story of how the true love found one another again on a snowy Christmas Eve, and it all began the moment the Dimension Cannon found something new. It found home. (RosexTwelve, featuring Jenny, The Doctor's Daughter).


**Title:** The Christmas Star  
**Rating: **PG  
**Characters: **Rose Tyler, The Doctor (12th), Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)  
**Genres: **Romance  
**Warnings: **N/A  
**Summary: **The Christmas Star always led Rose Tyler home.  
**Word count:** 5961  
**Author's Notes:** This is my story for the DW Secret Santa Fic Exchange. It was prompted by I-am-burning-up-a-sun: "Twelve x Rose if the person feels up for it. Maybe something involving Jenny (As in the Doctor's daughter)."

I l bounced around plot ideas for a month, rewrote the entire thing twice, and then I finally settled on this. I'm actually really proud of it, and it was quite a challenge since we know absolutely nothing about Twelve's character. I think I was more invested in Rose's journey and development more than anything… Anyway, I hope it's okay, and that you like it! Merry Christmas! Anyway, it's unbeted. I was unable to find one for it.

* * *

When Rose Tyler was young, at the ripe age where magic was as real as the nonexistent, mythological Santa Claus, her mother would hold her in her lap, arms wrapped around her scrawny torso. It would have been a few days before Christmas, when the brisk season of winter would strike the Powell Estates, long before the cherry blossoms bloomed. Her mother would hold her so that her head rested against the older woman's chest where Rose would be able to feel Jackie's heart thrum to the beat of a hummingbird's wings. It was a comforting sound, and Rose would clutch the fabric of her thick winter coat.

"Look, Rose," her mother would whisper, her high soprano voice sinking lower as if to relay a secret which would one day change the world. Jackie would gesture to the sky where specks of light were scattered across the dark, velvet blanket above them. "There's the Christmas Star." From the millions of stars in the sky, she would choose the one that radiated with the most luminosity, easily seen on a clear night.

Rose's four-year-old head would perk up with interest, having successfully been manipulated into believing the impossible. "Really?" she would breathe out in her trilling, bell-like chime.

Jackie would affirm the observation before elaborating with, "They say that the Christmas Star is the brightest star on Christmas Eve." Her mother would brush the golden waves from Rose's face and lean forward to tell the rest. "It'll always shine, no matter if it's snowing or cloudy."

"Why?" Rose would question.

Jackie would simply smile and shake her head. "Your father always said it was so that, no matter where you were, you'd always be able to find your way home."

Spoken aloud, her words captured Rose as truth. Even now, over two decades later, Rose could still remember giggling in awe, her mother mimicking the action. Finally, Jackie would tilt her head forward to the point that her daughter could taste the vanilla perfume that she favored, and Rose would glance up to meet her mother's gaze. The familiar brown eyes she inherited were looking back, and Rose would send her a full-tooth grin. Jackie would smile back, and both would stare up at the little balls of gas, pulsing with light as they twinkled, content with the idea that Pete Tyler had found his own way home.

Twenty years later, Rose was trapped in a parallel universe with a Pete Tyler that never left home, her mother, and a younger brother named Tony Tyler. The parallel universe was unfamiliar in a familiar way. Deja vu haunted Rose's every waking moment as she attempted to adapt to the new world while searching for a way back home. In the end, she looked towards the sky on a clear night, seeking that twinkling star she and her mother had always gazed upon on Christmas Eve with the hope that one day it would lead her home too.

Thankfully, on that night, even as the Darkness seeped across the sky, the Christmas Star was still visible.

Of all the dissimilar things in her similar world, Rose chose to place her hope in the childhood tale Jackie had always told her to lead her back to the Doctor. The same Doctor who was an alien man who could change his face, the one who took her away from the normalcy she had lived through for nineteen years, the one who showed her the stars as they traveled through all of space and time in his magical blue box, and the one who stole her heart. Rose would do anything to return to her home in his arms.

It took her a while, but as the Darkness crept slowly across the sky, Rose came to the Torchwood Institute of London with an idea that would not only save the parallel world but allow her a chance to return to the Doctor. She presented the Dimension Cannon project which would allow one to travel from one dimension to the next; a Torchwood team would step across the dimensional walls in search of the Doctor, who, Rose and others who knew him swore, was the only person who could save their world.

For the following seven months, they used the technology from the Dimension Hoppers and formed the Dimension Cannon. Upon completion, Rose, acting as the Commanding Officer, led a team of Torchwood agents on many adventures into other dimensions, but, once there, they discovered that the Darkness which was haunting their world was infiltrating others. (Rose was pleased that every universe they came across had the all-too-familiar Christmas Star shining brightly along their horizons). The Dimension Cannon also measured timelines between the worlds, and it was found that they centered around one London resident by the name of Donna Noble. For months, Torchwood traced the progress of their team and the data from the timeline measurements, and, after many trips, they finally found the Doctor.

Years afterwards, once the Darkness had disappeared and the world was saved, people would recall the moment the Torchwood team's CO found the Doctor on the Dalek-ridden street in the middle of London, reunited for the first time in four years, and then saved their world and all the others.

However, there is a story that many forgot and only a handful remember. It is the story where the past wounds meet the future scars in the healing present. It is the story of another Doctor, the twelfth one to precise, and how one Rose Tyler stumbled into his life once more—something he hadn't thought possible since he said goodbye two bodies before.

It is the story of how the true love found one another again on a snowy Christmas Eve, and it all began the moment the Dimension Cannon found something new.

It found home.

* * *

It was like the eye of a hurricane had passed over as an ominous silence settled upon what had once been the epicenter of chaos. Light now flooded the room, illuminating every previously shadowed corner of one of Torchwood's elusive tech labs. Researchers and technicians alike had their hands raised to shield their eyes from the light as if it was a predator poised to attack its prey. However, a few brave souls attempted to peer through the blinding brightness in order to gauge the status of their transdimensional cannon—a project they had dedicated tireless years towards.

The machine stood proud and unyielding against the stark white wall across the room amongst the swirling smoke and showers of sparks; the console surrounding it exploded in bursts of heat and destruction.

"Is the connection steady?" one researcher, a middle-aged Japanese woman, questioned as she narrowed her eyes in concentration at the scene, analyzing the information that blinked across the numerous monitors on the console. "Do we have a connection at all, Ianto?"

"Yes, 'mam," a younger man with cropped chestnut hair said, his brown eyes flickering across the screen in front of him as he absorbed the data it presented. "A connection has been established with…" There was a short moment of silence before he shook his head. "Sector D1. The readings are in tune with the previous visits. We've got the Doctor's World."

The woman arched an eyebrow as she peered over Ianto's shoulder. "Are the timelines constant?"

"Same readings, Tosh," he answered cryptically. "Following one Miss Donna Noble."

Tosh gestured to one of the researchers in a white lab coat to withdraw from where she had huddled under the desk in the far corner of the room during the initial explosion. "Sally, record the data; note that we've got a constant and stable connection to the D1 universe. The readings are the same, but it's unknown what time period, so she can start preparing for a jump—"

"Wait, Miss Sparrow," Ianto drawled out, pulling Tosh from delivering orders to the younger operative. He held out a hand to the rest of the room, his eyes never leaving the screen. "We're receiving delayed data. The… The timelines are extending—past Donna Noble's, I believe. They're branching off in many, many directions."

Tosh turned on her heel and pushed Ianto to the side. "That… That can't be right. Do we have the right time? Does it coincide with our own?"

"No idea." Ianto pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefingers, shaking his head slowly. "The readings indicate that all of the timelines join Miss Noble's at some point in time, but that's the thing. It's a point of time in this Sector's past, and then it all goes beyond. Far, far, far beyond. The event has even disappeared from the display screen. It's a miniscule point on the grand scale of these timelines." Tosh sighed and drummed her fingers against the cool metal of the desk, the beat providing enough of a distraction that Ianto pulled himself away from the data to meet his coworker's eyes. "We need to get Agent Tyler now. Tell her it's urgent."

"It's Christmas Eve," Tosh said, and Ianto nodded solemnly.

"I know, but we've got to get a team to investigate this," Ianto explained. "Even though it's Christmas, I doubt aliens bent on world destruction take a break over the holidays. Heavens knows we don't."

Nearly an hour later, Rose Tyler was seated in front of the computer with Ianto leaning over her shoulder as they studied the information in front of her. Even after four years in the parallel universe, the room still sent shivers down her spine every time she caught sight of the ivory wall where the Cannon was aimed, the place where, in an adjacent universe, she had nearly lost her life and spent five and a half hours sobbing against, awaiting her Doctor's impossible return. It wasn't a sight she welcomed, and it was most definitely something that pushed her day-in and day-out to continue her search for the man she loved.

"I'm not making this up," Ianto pressed, gesturing towards the readings, and Rose refrained from rolling her eyes. As much as she respected and enjoyed the researcher's company, she did not appreciate his hovering presence. "The timelines are branching… We've reached something beyond the Incident."

"I can see that," Rose said, sighing as she pushed herself to her feet. "Get the Cannon ready for another go. I'm going in for a jump."

If there was ever a time to disregard order's given to them by Director Tyler's daughter, now was not a time to start doing so. Needless to say, a short time later, Rose Tyler stood in the center of the room, her lips pursed in a resolute expression, the plump features stretched thin with unyielding determination. Her brown eyes narrowed in concentration as the familiar sound of the Cannon whirring to life cut through the air, and she tensed her muscles, preparing for the jump.

How she managed to drag herself away from her family on Christmas Eve to check in with the Dimension Cannon without a single word of protest from Jackie or Pete was unknown to her. Perhaps it was because her family understood her real reason for the proposal of the project and had restrained themselves from interfering in her quest. They knew she didn't belong in this parallel universe, and they knew that this world could never be her home for her home was at the Doctor's side, wherever place in time and space that might be. Whatever the reason, Rose reckoned, she was forever grateful for their permission to investigate another chance to find the Doctor.

Rose noted the irony that the rather unusual readings the Cannon was delivering had fallen upon Christmas Eve, and a part of her wondered if this was the day the Christmas Star would finally lead her home. She could picture the alien who took her away from the Powell Estates six years prior in his magical machine just awaiting her return. The thought made her quirk her lips up into a small smile, and she closed her eyes to reminisce on the possible reunion.

The thought of meeting the Doctor struck a chord in her heart. It had only been four years, and to the Doctor, it would have been as if no time had passed at all, but, to her, it was, in all honesty, a truly long time if you thought about it. Throw in a new brother, aliens, the stars disappearing, and the Dimension Cannon—you get the picture. The last time Rose had seen the Doctor had been on a cold, windy beach in middle of Norway. There were tears shed; words exchanged; and lessons learned. Rose knew, that, in itself, was what made it harder to move on from the pain of her past. Moving on is simple, though, once you are granted no time to remember. However, the memories, for Rose, were what pushed her on.

"Cannon ready," Tosh called out from behind her station. "Initiating coordinates."

"Data readings holding strong," Ianto said. He glanced over to the other researchers and technicians and received approval to further the process. "Countdown in ten, Agent Tyler."

"Copy," Rose answered, refusing to open her eyes.

A light flickered in front of her eyelids, and the Cannon sent out a beam towards her; she could feel the charge in the air as the entire world seemed to shift beneath her feet. There was a sharp crack, as if a rubber band pulled taunt had snapped into two separate entities, and the ground vanished beneath her. She gasped for breath as she attempted to regain her balance as she fell, her hands flailing about as she searched for a stability. Suddenly, her fingers caught a bit of fabric, and she established an iron grip, but the Cannon had propelled her forward to break through the trans-dimensional walls, and her momentum had yet to decrease. The piece of cloth wasn't enough to sustain her as Rose went crashing to the pavement below, scraping the heels of her palms along the cement.

She laid on the ground for a few moments, shoulders heaving forward as she inhaled gasps of air, the oxygen like sweet nectar for her burning lungs. Her head was spinning like a planet orbiting in its celestial dance, gravity and other forces playing a tug-of-war with her sense of balance. When the world finally righted itself, Rose pried her eyes open slowly, a dark sky greeting her.

She managed a bright smile when she saw the Christmas Star shining above her. "There's no zeppelins," she whispered under her breath, and a giggle escaped her.

Ianto and Tosh had said they had connected to the Doctor's World but from a time after the Darkness—and here was the proof. She was in the same London, England, where she had once shared a flat with her mother in the Powell Estates and dated a boy named Mickey Smith and ran away with an alien by the name of the Doctor. This was the London she had worked as a shopgirl at Hendrick's once long ago and the London where her biological father was killed in a car accident.

It was the same London she had met and lost the Doctor in.

She propped herself on trembling hands and knees, overcome with disbelief and joy at the prospect of being home for the first time in a long while. While she had traveled to dimensions much like this one, none of them had been her home, but when the Dimensions Cannon registered the connection to match that of her original universe, Rose felt her heart leap into her throat.

Now that she was actually in London, breathing its air with the Christmas Star shining high above her, she truly believed that she might be close to home for the first time in four years.

Rose pushed herself to her feet and took in the sight around her. Her warm chocolate eyes searched her surroundings, scanning shops and peering over the people that passed by. Regardless of her whereabouts, Rose vowed that she would find the Doctor soon; he had to be near. The Cannon functioned on her TARDIS key, honing in on the signal from the Doctor's magical blue box. The readings for this jump had shown that the TARDIS was in the close vicinity of her destination, so similar to the parallel world she had stumbled into where the Doctor had died moments before she met up with Donna.

(It was a trip she rarely reminisced on. Rose remembered her blood pounding past her ears as she ran towards the scene, the TARDIS key swinging with her motions; her heart leapt into her throat as she saw the gurney rolling across her line of vision and the all too familiar sonic screwdriver clattering to the pavement below. Every part of her was screaming that she was too late, but the last hope she harnessed was destroyed by Donna Noble's, "I'm sorry. He's dead.")

Rose shook her head, the memories fading as she turned her attention to the situation at hand; she had jumped from the Torchwood tech lab and into an alleyway in downtown London. Her lips quirked into a small smile as she ambled out of the alley and into the busy metropolitan community where a light snow had begun to fall, bystanders enduring the environment's harsh winter weather. The cold season was bearing down on London hard; a front from the North seemed to be coming through, causing temperatures to plummet into the negative digits. The sidewalks were littered with ice and slush, and steam rose from the sewer grates, spiraling in the air in great white wisps. The frigid atmosphere froze Rose's fingers, and she feared for frostbite.

It was such a nagging thought in the back of her head that she vaulted herself over the curb as she crossed the street, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her blue leather jacket. She scanned each passersby, the unfamiliar faces blending, unifying, and swirling with one another; however, never once did she spot the Doctor. The beat of footsteps against the sidewalk served as a distraction for her growing frustration as she let her eyes flicker over the crowd, glancing for some recognizable face.

"_Will you… wait.. up_!" a voice suddenly shouted from above the mindless mutterings of the people around her. Rose cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see what had caused the sudden commotion, catching sight of a small blonde bobbing through the crowd. "Just, _hold o_n! Wait for me!"

Rose narrowed her eyes in the woman's direction, unsure of who she was addressing. However, if became certain when her brown eyes met the toffee ones of the stranger that she was the target. Rose turned on her heel and ducked under someone's arms, skirting around the edge of a bus stop until she was headed in the opposite direction. If someone had seen her jump into the alleyway, Rose would have serious questions to answer, and being held up for interrogation wasn't exactly on her schedule at the current moment. She was absolutely certain that the younger blonde was following her as she rushed to catch up with Rose who was retracing her steps to whence she had first appeared.

"Will you slow down?" the girl cried out, irritation lacing her tone. "_I just want to talk to you_!"

Rose inclined her head to the side as she maneuvered past a group of carollers, holding her right hand over the inside pocket of her jacket where an emergency stunner was located. While she had always supported the Doctor's discontentment towards weapons, she needed something to defend herself in certain situations that she encountered while dimension jumping.

"Look!" the girl said, and Rose kept up her brisk pace as she rounded the corner which would take her back to the alley she had originally jumped into. She glanced down at the communicator on her wrist which counted down the time until she could jump back to Pete's world (she hoped it didn't have to come to that). "I know you can hear me! The TARDIS has been tracking you since you got here, and I—"

The world seemed to freeze at the blonde's words as Rose whirled around to face her pursuer. The petite and curvy woman stared back with twinkling chocolate eyes; she had her golden locks tied back in a high pony which swung with her movements as she jogged towards Rose. She was dressed similar to Rose with a black leather jacket and dark jeans; although, a pair of black scuffed Chucks completed the look. The sight was like a mix of her previous Doctor and present, a sight which caused the air to leave her lungs in a loud whoosh.

"Blimey, you're a hard one to track down," the girl remarked, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Quite a runner. Course, if you travel with the Doctor, it's something you've got to be good at." She paused a few steps in front of Rose and gestured behind her with a flick of her wrist. "The TARDIS is this way, if you're interested…" Rose remained frozen in place, and the girl shuffled awkwardly, shifting her balance from one leg to the other. "I'm Jenny, by the way, the Doctor's daughter."

Rose leaned forward in shock, her eyes widening with complete disbelief. "I'm sorry… who?"

"The Doctor's daughter," Jenny repeated, and Rose's mouth fell open on its own accord. Jenny smiled wryly and stifled a low chuckle. "Don't worry. I get that reaction from everyone; at least he looks the part now."

It was as if her mind had short-circuited, frayed wires buzzing with electricity, and needed to be rebooted. Her world had fallen off its axis and went free-falling through space at a million light years per nanosecond, life continuing in fast-forward while she stood motionless to the side. Dragging in a ragged gasp of air, Rose shook her head, confusion lacing her features. She dug her nails into the heels of her palms, the skin tinged white from the pressure she exerted. The situation had turned completely impossible, and it caused Rose to wonder whether she was in her real universe. The only thing that convinced her was the readings from the Dimension Cannon and the ever-present heat from the TARDIS key, signaling that the blue box was somewhere close by.

"I… I don't understand," Rose said, her voice low and tense. "The Doctor doesn't have a daughter…" I was a father words echoed through her head of a time long ago, and Rose shook her head, attempting to turn her concentration back to the situation at hand. "His people are… gone. How… You can't be… Are you from before the Time War? Or did he have… someone? How did…"

Rose's world was crashing down around her. This was her original universe which meant that her Doctor was somewhere close, and yet, this was also a future version of her universe. Perhaps too far into the future. Perhaps her search was fruitless. Perhaps the Doctor had already moved on.

Perhaps he didn't love her after all.

Jenny raised her eyebrows in confusion. "No, you've got it wrong. Look, if you know about the Time War, then you're definitely one of his past companions after his eighth self, but who are you? What's your name?"

"…You don't know who I am?" Rose questioned. Her throat felt tight, and she swallowed thickly. He had promised that he wouldn't forget her, had promised that she wouldn't be a nameless face in a long line of companions. He had promised her that she was different.

Rose wondered just how much time had gone by.

"Why don't you just come to the TARDIS so I can explain a few things, and you can talk to the Doctor," Jenny said before turning on her heel and ambling out of the alley.

In a stunned silence, Rose followed suite, keeping a tight hold on her thoughts as they whirled about in her head. They walked another block to the west until Rose found herself face-to-face with the one thing she had thought she would never come across again. This was a living TARDIS, one that was still connected to the Doctor. She let a small smile overcome her features as she laid a cool and pale hand against the aged, blue wood; a nudge against her mind told her that the ship knew she had returned home.

She looked up at the sky and caught sight of the Christmas Star twinkling above her.

Elation bubbled within her chest, and she fumbled with the key on the chain around her neck. Jenny watched her exuberation, and when the blonde finally managed to unlock the door, her boots slipped over the powdered snow and concrete until she stumbled into the TARDIS. Rose regained her balance and let out a gasp of awe at the sight in front of her. This wasn't the TARDIS as she left it: this was a sleek and white version compared to the grungy, coral she remembered. She let her fingers trace the Gallifreyan script on the side as she ambled slowly up the platform.

"Father!" Jenny called out. "I found where the signal was coming from. It's a girl, obviously a past companion. She's—-"

"I know," a gruff voice sounded from behind the console. Rose whipped her head in the direction, confusion tainting her expression as she peeked around the time rotor and narrowed her eyes as a man stepped into her line of sight. "I saw you outside the TARDIS."

Rose's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the man in front of her who she knew, in the deepest corners of her heart, was the Doctor she had come to love—only he had changed. He wasn't the Doctor she left. He's regenerated, she told herself, and tears pricked in the corners of her eyes as she clenched her hands into tight fists at her sides. Sudden grief overcame her as she realized that her Doctor—the one she had left, the one who had an unhealthy obsession with bananas, the same one who she last saw on Bad Wolf Bay, the one she said, "I love you" too—he was gone, and she had been unable to mourn him.

Regeneration had always been a distinct possibility that she never paid heed to because the idea that she would be coming back to a whole new man frightened her too much for words. She tilted her head to the side, analyzing every aspect of the man in front of her who was her Doctor in mind and soul but not in body. He had definitely aged in this body, and the concept took her by surprise. Her gaze jumped from his grey hair to his brilliant blue eyes, lines etched across his forehead and wrinkles in the corners of his mouth—it was apparent that he smiled frequently in this body. As she continued her observation, she noticed that he seemed lighter and happier; he didn't carry the same weight that had burdened her Doctor in the past.

"You…" Rose's tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of her mouth. "It's really you. You're here"

"And you're not supposed to be," he said, a Scottish accent flaring with his words. "Nonetheless, long time, no see, Rose Tyler."

The moment her name rolled off his lips, Rose rushed forward and threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close; he leaned into the embrace and buried his face in her blonde hair. She held on tightly, refusing to let go, and the seconds ticked by without notice. It wasn't until Jenny managed a small cough to gain their attention that the duo separated.

"I'm just going to my room," Jenny announced, her brown eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'll just let you two proclaim your love for one another and have a quick shag if time allows it." She turned on her heel without a second glance, skipping off to no doubt eavesdropping on the couple's reunion.

The Doctor managed an indignified squeak before shaking his head. "The cheek of that girl!"

"Oi," Rose said. "You were the same, last I saw of you!"

"Granted she was… created in that body," the Doctor mused, his mind whirling with so many different thoughts that it was hard to stay focused on one topic. Luckily, falling back into the easy banter with Rose Tyler (of all the impossible things) fit a rhythm he hadn't known he'd missed.

Rose stiffened slightly at his words. "You… You have a daughter then."

While it was voiced as a statement, the Doctor knew there was an underlying question accompanying it. "Yes, her name's Jenny. Donna came up with it… Well, Donna Noble—" He paused, pulling on his earlobe and flashing her a sharp smirk. "You've met her? Dimension cannon and all that jazz?"

Rose gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth in surprise. "How do you know about… How—"

"Sorry, forgot about the timelines," the Doctor said, chuckling lowly as Rose stared at him, wide-eyed in horror. "You're looking for me, traveling across dimensions." He stepped forward and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together. "I know all about that, Rose. You see, in my time, you already found me."

Rose trembled at his words. "It's… already happened, then? I found you? We saved the whole of time and space?" She bit her lip, shaking her head. "How long has it been for you?" She raised her hand, her fingers tracing the lines on his face. "You look… older."

"At least I finally look my age, as Jenny tells me," the Doctor deadpanned.

Rose giggled under her breath. "No, no, course not." She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side, trailing her index finger across his brow. "It's your eyes. They're…. different."

The Doctor pressed his lips into a tight smirk. "Good different or bad different?"

"Just… different." She bit her lip, a smile threatening to take hold. "You look older, but you look happier too." She nodded her head in the direction that Jenny had disappeared too, her blonde hair falling into her line of vision. "And you've got someone with you… You're not alone, which is all I ever wanted. I was going to stay with you forever just so you wouldn't have to be."

The Doctor brushed her fringe aside, leaning forward so that Rose could feel his hot breath tickling her forehead. "And I thank you for that."

"But you've got Jenny now," Rose murmured, "And I've got work to do, apparently."

"You'll see me again, Rose Tyler." The Doctor smiled

"Will you… ever see me again?" Rose questioned, ducking her eyes from his gaze. "I mean… Will you ever go back in time and meet me? Or is this as far as I go for you? Is this… the end of—"

"Of us?"

Rose bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah," she said shakily. "Is this the end of time together? I mean… I promised to stay with you forever, but I only have one life. I don't want you to ever be alone, and I know you aren't alone anymore. You've got Jenny now, but I need to make sure that you aren't ever going to be alone…" Her words stammered to a halt as she swallowed back her tears.

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor breathed out and cocked his head to the side, locking his blue eyes with her brown ones. "You have been gone for many, many lifetimes by now, but you will always be with me. You have seen the end of the Earth and beyond. You've seen the beginning of my time and the end of yours. You may have only lived one life, but you've been everywhere and everywhen." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to her own. "You saved me, Rose Tyler, just by holding my hand. Anytime I feel alone, all I have to do is remember that, wherever I am, you are somewhere else in time and space, running alongside me."

Rose managed a small smile and attempted to hide the tears glistening in her eyes. "I… I love you, Doctor."

"I know, Rose," he said in reply, "And when you see me again, your version of me, I'll say it back."

Rose widened her eyes and flashed him a full-tooth grin. "I… You'll say it?"

He nodded, shrugging slightly but never once did he let his smile fade. "I will. I promise." He reached a hand up to cup her chin and leaned closer, hot breath tickling her cheek. "You will see me again, Rose, and I want you to promise me something in return."

Rose let her eyes drift to his lips and back to those brilliant blue orbs, swallowing thickly before nodded. "Yeah, sure… What is it?"

"Have a good life, Rose Tyler. Have a brilliant and fantastic life."

Rose closed her eyes and managed a small sniffle as the Doctor raised his other hand to cradle her face, and she clenched her jaw tight. Rose knew, then and there, that he would never see her again. The Doctor was telling her "goodbye" for the last time in his life.

Throwing caution to the wind, she embraced him tightly, burying her face in his chest; he nestled himself in her golden ringlets, inhaling the cherry blossom shampoo she had always been fond of. Twin tears dripped down each of their cheeks, leaving both a grief-stricken Time Lord and human behind. Then and there, it didn't matter whether or not they would meet again: all that mattered was that, here, in this moment, they were together.

She let her eyes flicker to his lips as he adjusted his grip on her shoulders. "I guess this is it," she said. "Have… Have a good life, Doctor."

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler," he said, and without any further prompting, he leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

It was the simplicity of the gesture that took her breath away. Through a simple kiss, the Doctor gave her all his worries and insecurities, envies and sins, all his happiness and all his love. In return, she received all he had to offer and gave him back all of her own. Rose run her hands through his hair, the gray curls coiling around her fingers, and she was reluctant to let go. It wasn't sensual by any means and was over as quickly as it started, but it was still enough to make her whole world jolt off its axis.

When they finally pulled away from one another, the Doctor gazed at her with all the love he could muster, and Rose knew that, if he could defy all the laws of time and space, he'd keep her by his side forever. However, she knew that it was time for her to leave; there was nothing left for her in this time and place. Her Doctor was elsewhere, and a completely different adventure awaited her.

When all was said and done, she turned on her heel with her head held high and walked out of the TARDIS. The magical blue box flared with golden light as the blonde took her leave, and she knew the ship was saying its farewell as well. A part of Rose was left behind as she took off for the journey she had yet to complete, and she knew that part of her would stay with the Doctor forever.

It was written in the stars, after all, because the Christmas Star would always bring Rose Tyler home.


End file.
